Barrel manufacture



Jax; 23, 1940.

H. L. HOYT.

Filed April 8, 195e l Wm gn 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.'

Jan. 23, 1940. H. L. HoYT 2,187,804

BARREL MANUFACTURE Filed April 8, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet -2 v l ORNEY.,

`Patented Jan. 23, 1940 Eems Hazen Hoyt, Great' Neck, N. Application April 8, 1936,. Serial No. 73,229l

v 1 Claim.

Yiwi" OFFICE BARREL'MANUFACTRE *l y i :fr

(clin-'309),'y f

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for'conveniently and economically making bilge barrels. Another object is to provide an mproved conical cutting tool for use in the manu- 5i; facturing of such barrels.

A further object is to provide an improved product in which the bevell'ed side edges of the stave-like portions lie contiguous one another and have a good iit for a substantial part yof their 10; thickness.,v

`Referring to the drawings,

Fig.` 1 `is a side View partly in section showing the motor-driven conical tool and its mounting.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2"-2 of Fig. l.

is a longitudinal section through the upper portion of the tool mounting.

` Fig. i is a side view of one machine vembodying this invention. r

Fig, -5 is a transverse cross-section through,r a

' 2,0` conical kcutting tool according to .this invention.

Fig. il is a section through the central portion oi a sheet of material which has been slotted according to this invention.

Fig. '7 is a View similar to Fig. 6 but showing the 25 sheet having been flexed.

The machine illustrated herein is adaptedr for the production of bilge barrels ofthe generaltype villustrated inmy prior but copending Patent No. 2,037,025 dated April i4, i936, filed June 23, 41,934.

30. Referring to the drawings, the sheets of mate-` rial which are to be slotted under this invention may be stacked in a magazine of the general type shown Fig. 3 ci my prior Patent No. 1,999,405 dated May 16th, 1933, from the under side of 35 which sheets of niaterialare takenone at a time by a ilegible conveyor as illustrated insaid prior patent. Such a conveyor it is shown in Fig. 4, although the magazine from which the sheets, are extracted is not shown herein. The conveyor lil 4u then feeds the work across a work table not shown but which is preferably slotted tov` receive the chain conveyor. An electric motor l i drives a circular saw i E which is of a special type adapted to cut very narrow slot IS in the sheet of Imaterial. There are preferably ,a number of such saws, each mounted on the saine shaft and driven by the flexible driving means Ill so that simultaneously anumber of parallel slots are cut in the work. Duc to the necessity for relievingthe cutting edges, that is, providing adequate clearance, there a limit to how narrow such a circular saw may be made, and it is contemplated to have the saw `l2 capable or cutting slotsiS of a Width about one-sixteenth of an inch.. As the Work is 5 5, fed under. the saws, spring ngers I 5 hold. the

Work tightly against thework table and prevent it from slipping or chattering under the saws. The Work is then fed by the conveyor Ill forward into engagement-With the cone-shaped cutting tools for Widening the slots, and after passing out f5# from cooperation with vsuch tools, the work may be discharged from the carrier li'ony to another carrier moving at right angles to the rst carrier as is shown in Fig. lof the prior Patent 1,909,405'.

This second-mentioned carrier is for the purpose mi of feed-ing the work while the croze slots are being out. The motor also drives the reduction gearing iii through the chain or belts l 6a, such gearing in turn driving the cam Il for the purpose of raising and lowering the cone cutters .with respect to the work, fortapering and deepening the stave slots at the ends of the barrel in order to give the bilge eiect thereto yas is described inniy prior Patent 2,037,025. The carrier It isdriven from the motor l or from some other motor not 0 shown. There are preferablytwo camsl Il, one on each sideof the machine, for raising and lowering not only the cone cutters but also their` driving motors and belting.y Cam rollers I8 engage the cam l5 and raise or lower the push rods 5 HQ carrying the angle iron 25 on which the motors and tools are mounted. To provide adjustment of the angle iron and motor with respect to the cam,.there are provided adjusting-screws 20 and clamp nuts 2l. each motor :22 drives a' battery of four cone cutters 23 which are for the purpose of Widening the saw slots.` Depending on the width' of the Work and the number of slots, there maybe a number oi sets of motors and tools. 35

.After the circular saw has cut slots i3 which are' substantially rectangular in'cross-section as shown in Fig. 6, the conev cutters'Zi oi the general shape indicated in Fig; `6, serve to widen the slots by vtapering the side walls 24 thereof as m, shown in Fig. 5.. In operation the cone cutters, during thestep of Widening the slots preferably have theirflower end adjacent the bottom of the slots i3 as shoWn'irrFig. 6.3-.The apex or lower end of the cone cutter comes as near to a point as is'practicable. f Sliding in the vertical guide ways shown in Fig. fi, and moved up and down by cam Il' and the cam roiler I8 vis v,an angle iron 25 supporting a numi ber of electric motors, each driving a-plurality of 5'5" the conical cutting tools 23. Each motor is separatelyy supported on abracket 26 which is adjustable .both longitudinally and transversely of the' angle iron supportby meansof the clamp bolts 23|` and28.

In the improvement illustrated mi y Carried on the lower end of the motor shaft is a pulley 29 provided with the two grooves illustrated for driving each of a number of rotatable spindles 30 carrying the cone cutters 23. Belts 3l and 31a drive a battery of tools from a single motor; as shown in Fig. 2 one motor drives four spindles, the belt 3l passing around spindles number l and 3 from the bottom, whereas the other belt 31a passing around the other grooves of the pulley 29 drives the spindles numbered 2 and 4 from the bottom in Fig. 2. On the angle iron support 25 there are preferably mounted several motors, each driving a battery of spindles, the number of motors and cone cutters depending on the number of staves. In order to space the cone cutters 23 close enough together, the drive pulleys on adjacent spindles are arranged in diierent planes, which permits bringing the spindles closer together than would be otherwise possible if the driving pulleys were all in the same plane.

In Fig, 3 the belt 3l drives the pulley 32 mounted on the rotatable spindle 30. Passing through the spindle 30 for rotation therewith is an inner spindle 33 which serves to raise or lower the wedging sleeve 34 within the lower flared or enlarged end portion 35 of the spindle 30. On tightening the nut 35 on the end of the inner spindle 33, this spindle is raised, which raises the slit wedging sleeve 34 and tightly clamps tool 23 in position.

In Fig. is illustrated a transverse cross-sectional view through an operative end portion of the conical cutting tool 23. The semi-circular cone cutter illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 of the prior Patent 1,909,405, was found to cut a slot which was not as uniform and regular along its sides as was desired.

In the present conical cutter the cutting edge is backed up by the body 37 of the tool which is of greater angular extent so that the cutting edge 31h is stiiened against springing away from the work as shown in Fig. 5. The body 31 of the tool thus extends more than 180 while the cut away portion 31a is less than such amount and is just large enough to insure freedom of the chips getting clogged therein. Both edges 31D and 31C are not sharpened and relieved but only one edge in a given tool, depending on its direction of rotation. In Fig. 5 only the edge 31h is sharpened and relieved.

For holding the work down upon the work table adjacent each cone cutting tool, there are provided a number of spring iingers 38, such as were described in the prior Patent 1,909,405. A nozzle 39 for blowing compressed air into the slots cut by the circular cutters l2 and by the cone cutters 23, assists in keeping the slots clear of chips and sawdust.

As shown in Figs. l and 3, a stationary housing 4| surrounds and guards each rotating spindle Roller bearings 40 and 42 guide the rotatable spindle 30 within the housing 4l. An upper stationary housing 43 is internally threaded at 44 for reception of a threaded washer 45 which lies contiguous the ball bearing unit 46 for transmitting any end thrust between the pulleys and housing 43. The spacing sleeve 41 positions the pulley 32 longitudinally along the rotatable spindle 30, and on the opposite side of the pulley 32 a longer spacing sleeve 48 extends from the pulley to a ball bearing unit 49 on which the sleeves and pulleys may be mounted, said ball bearing unit resting on top of the stationary housing 4l as shown in Fig. 3. Another ball bearing unit 50 is located within the threaded plug 5l. A nut 52, extending beyond and integral with the plug provides a means for insertion and removal of the plug 5I within the stationary housing 43. The sleeves 41 and 48 also steady the pulley on the spindle 30 owing to the sliding fit of the pulley.

A rotatable sleeve 53 extends around the spindle 3U and engages the inner race ring of the ball bearing 50. This sleeve 53 extends axially beyond the nut 52, where it may be engaged by a. clamp nut 54 threaded on the rotatable spindle 30. The sleeve 53, tends to support the rotatable spindle on the ball bearing unit 50. A lock nut 55 assists in keeping the nut 54 in adjusted position. For lubricating the rotatable spindle, oil enters the inlet 56, passes through the ball bearing units 53 and 46 through the passages 51, 58 and 59, thence through the ball bearing unit 49, roller bearings 42, around the rotatable spindles to the roller bearings 40 on the lower end portion of the spindle and thence out the oil delivery pipe 60.

As described in my prior patents, 2,037,025, 1,909,405, 1,922,588 and 1,775,224, the sheet material or work to be operated upon in the formation of the stave slots, is preferably plywood having the grain in some of the plies at substantially right angles to one another for the purpose of lessening any tendency for the plywood to expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity. Other materials than plywood may be used in the formation of the bilge barrels of this invention. In Fig. 6 of the drawings, is illustrated, a sheet of three-ply plywood 6|, in which a number of the stave-forming slots are cut. An advantage in first forming the slots by means of a rotary cutter I2 and then Widening or bevelling the upper portions of such slots by means of a cone cutter 23, when the lower end of the cone cutter is located substantially adjacent the bottom of the slot, resides in the formation of a ridge 62 extending longitudinally of the slots, this ridge being formed between the bevelled portions 24 of the slot walls and the substantially straight or vertical portions of the slot walls which were originally cut by the circular saw. An advantage in'such ridge 62 resides in the fact that the sheet of material when flexed about the head of a barrel has the side walls of the slots so shaped that instead of being contiguous only adjacent the outer end portions of the stave slots, as shown in Fig. 7 the side walls of the slots are contiguous for a substantial radial distance 63 inwardly from the ridge 62. Radially inside the ridge B2 is formed the requisite clearance space necessary for distributing the exure or" the fibers of the outer ply.

In operation, a sheet of material is withdrawn from the stack by the carrier l0 and fed across a work table under the gang of circular saws l2 which cut a number of parallel slots through two or more of the plies and part way through the bottom or outer ply. The slots out by the circular saws are preferably of uniform depth. After passing under the saws l2, the Work next passes under the cone cutters 23 which widen the slots as indicated in Fig. 6. Due to the necessity of having the staves tapered, or in other words, having the stave slots of gradually greater depth at the ends of the sheet than at the middle, as was described in prior Patent 2,037,025, in the present process the deepening of the stave slots is accomplished entirely by the cone cutters 23 which are automatically raised and lowered with respect to the work in timed relation to the travel lso they are gradually raised by the cam until in the main body portion of. the sheet the lower end portion oi' the cutters 23 is substantially on the level or adjacent to the bottom of the slot cut by the circular saws. In this way the ridge S2 extends mainly in the central body portion of the sheetand toward eacli end the ridge 62 slopes downwardly until at the ends it disappears due to the penetration of the cone cutters entirely through the sheet. After being raised and traveling .through the central portion of the sheet, the cone cutters .are again loweredA gradually as the rear end of the sheet is approached. After passing under thecon-e cutters, the carrier l delivers the siotfted sheets to a second carrier forconveying the sheets under the Croze cutters as described in prior Patent 1,909,405. It will be understood that the sheets formed under the present inventionare adapted for forming bilge type barrels of the kind illustrated in prior Patent 2,037,025.

Instead of having the sheet flat and raising and lowering the cone cutters in timed relation to the work travel, it will be understood that, if desired, the work sheets -mayi be bowed as was suggested inFig. 3 of prior Patent'2,037,025 to do away with the necessity of having the cutters raised and lowered with respect to the work. Yet the stave-forming slots are still tapered and deepened at their ends. While this invention is intended primarily for operation `upon sheets forming connected staves, nevertheless, it is also useful in connection with a plurality of individual staves arranged longitudinally side by side, in which case the cone cutters bevel the edges and taper the staves to give the necessary bilge effect.

Al bilge type barrel having staves with tapered end portions against longitudinal thrusts on the individual staves; however, if desired, the staves of such bilge type barrels may nevertheless be still fury ther strengthened by having the cone cutters 23 oscillated laterally in timed relation to the work travel toy provide-the sinusoidally serrated stave edges of prior Patent 1,909,405. It will be understood that the advantages in having the ridge 62y vformed in the sides of the stave slots so that a large proportion of the stave side edges may fit or abut one another as shown in Fig. 7, is a feature which is not limited to bilge type barrels.

In other words, stave slots of the form shown by Figs. 6 and 7 are adapted for use also in cylindrical barrels of the type shown in prior Patents 1,775,224 and 1,922,588, either with 'or without integral or other reinforcement. In practice, it has been found desirable for the cone cutters to -rotate at a high speed, such as eight to ten thousand revolutions per minute, and this high speed makes it unnecessary for the cone cutters to have a point-in order to penetrate the work, since the bottom of the cutters may also have a cutting edge. As shown in Fig. the tool body portion 31 adjacent the cutting edge 31h or 37o -is relieved or given the requisite clearance necessary for any cutting edge. Of course, whether the edge 31h or 31e is a cutting edge depends on the direction is generally amply reinforcedof rotation of the tool.-

advantage in 'a cone type cutter of this sort lies in the ability of the tool to be ground without changing its shape. As has been stated in some of the previous patents referred to, the sheet of materialmay be either natural or synthetic fibrous sheets than the plywood mentioned.

In the preferred embodiment the circular saws l2 are preferably not raised and lowered with respect to the work sheet, but, if desired, it will be understood that these saws may also be raised and lowered with respectr tothe work to deepen the stave-forming slots adjacent the ends of the sheet. vIn this last event it will be necessary to yprovide either a flexible shaft or a separate motor drive for these circular saws orlels'e to raise and lower the work and the carrier with respect to the saws. The necessity for adequate clearance or relief for the lcutting edges of a circular saw makes it impossible to provide a circular saw which is adapted to cut a V-shaped slot in which the vertex of the V is at all sharp.` On the other hand circular saws` can be designed to cut stave- A forming 'slots for a width of about one-sixteenth of an inch on the bottom. Due to the weight of the several motors and theirgangs of cone cutters, it will be understood that no springs or other means than gravity are necessary to maintain the cam roller i8 in constant contact with the camfl l. If it is vdesired to cut stave-forming slots `'closer together than maybe provided by having the 'cutters arranged as shown in Fig. 2, with the pulleys slightly overlapping, such may be accomplished by having adjacent cone cutters staggered or arranged in front and back of one another,l

whereby they may be spaced as closely as desired.

The use of such cone cutters in staggered relation Vwas illustrated in prior Patent 1,909,405. The use of the circular saw in advance of the conical cutter relieves the cone cutter of much'of the work it would otherwise have to do.

I claim: y

Ihe method of forming a slot inI a sheet of material from side lto side of said sheet, which slot has a central portion of uniform depth with a flat bottom and substantially parallel lower sides terminating in bevelled uppersides, the bevel increasing-and the substantially parallel sides diminishing in depth toward each side of said sheet until the bevel extends completely vthrough the sheet, comprising the steps of cutting a uniform narrow slot with substantially parallel sides and a iiat bottom entirely across said sheet to the uniform depths of said central portion, and rotating a conical cutter with its axis of rotation perpendicular to said sheet and passing the cutter along the narrow slot from one side to the other side of the sheet, having the point of the cutter below the bottom of the sheet as it enters the slot `from one side, to cut through the bottom of the slot and bevel the sides thereof, gradually raising the cutter until, at the central portion of the slot, only the upper portions of the parallel sides of the slot are bevelled and then gradually lowering y the cutter as it passes along the slot kfrom the center of the sheet to the other side thereof, and cuttingv through the bottom ofthe slot with the point of the cutter as the cutter reaches the said other side of the sheet.

HAZEN L. HOYT. 

